Evaluation of rapid methods for diagnosis of tuberculosis in slaughtered free-range pigs

Cardoso-Toset, Fernando
Luque, Inmaculada
Amarilla, Shyrley P.
Fernández, Layla
Huerta Lorenzo, Belén
Carrasco Otero, Librado
Ruiz, Pilar
Gómez-Laguna, J.

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Publication date

January 2015

DOI

10.1016/j.tvjl.2015.01.022

Publisher

Elsevier BV

Abstract

Free-range pigs can be infected by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) and may contribute to the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB). In the present study, the diagnostic values of bacteriological culture, a duplex real-time quantitative PCR and an antibody ELISA were evaluated in an abattoir study of submandibular lymph nodes and serum samples from 73 pigs with and without lesions consistent with bTB. The duplex qPCR was an accurate method for diagnosis of TB in pigs (specificity 100%; sensitivity 80%). Combining qPCR with histopathology improved sensitivity and had very good concordance (κ = 0.94) with the reference method. Serological results suggest that the antibody ELISA can be used for monitoring herds but not individuals